Legal claims defining the scope of protection. Each claim is shown in both the original legal language and a plain English translation.
1. An image forming apparatus, comprising: a memory; a controller configured to: receive image data, in a case where the image data has a first resolution, store the image data in the memory without halftone processing, in a case where the image data has a second resolution higher than the first resolution, store the image data in the memory after the halftone processing thereof, and perform rotation processing for the image data stored in the memory in accordance with a direction of a sheet; and an image forming device configured to form an image on the sheet based on the image data for which the rotation processing is performed, wherein the controller is configured to, in a case where the halftone processing has been performed for the image data stored in the memory and a direction of the sheet does not correspond to a direction of the image data stored in the memory: perform, if a type of the sheet is an envelope, a rotation processing of the image data, and cause the image forming device to perform image forming on the sheet based on the rotated image data, and cause, if the type of the sheet is not an envelope, a display device to display an alert screen without performing the rotation processing.
An image forming apparatus (printer/copier) avoids printing restrictions by analyzing image data resolution. If the image data has a lower resolution, it's stored in memory without halftoning. If the resolution is high, halftoning is applied before storage. The stored image data is rotated according to the sheet's orientation. The printer then prints based on the rotated data. If halftoning was applied and the sheet's direction doesn't match the image data's direction, the printer rotates the image if printing on an envelope. Otherwise, it displays an alert if not printing on an envelope.
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to, in a case where the halftoning processing has not been performed, perform halftone processing for the image data after performing the rotation processing for the image data stored in the memory, and control the image forming device to perform image forming on the sheet.
The image forming apparatus, as described in claim 1 (which stores lower resolution images without halftoning and higher resolution images with halftoning, rotates the stored image based on sheet orientation, and prints accordingly, rotating only envelope images when sheet direction and image direction don't match), further processes lower resolution images. If the image was stored without halftoning, the device applies halftoning *after* rotating it, and *then* prints. This ensures consistent halftoning regardless of the original image resolution or rotation applied.
3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a feeding control priority mode that prioritizes a feeding direction of the sheet and an image quality priority mode that prioritizes an image quality can be set, and wherein the controller is configured to: in a case where a size of the sheet is a predetermined size, in the case where the image quality priority mode is set and irrespective of whether or not the size of the image data is less than or equal to a threshold, store image data to which the halftoning processing is performed, in the memory, and perform, in accordance with the direction of the sheet, after performing rotation processing for which a rotation angle is restricted on the image data stored in the memory, image forming on the sheet.
The image forming apparatus, as described in claim 1 (which stores lower resolution images without halftoning and higher resolution images with halftoning, rotates the stored image based on sheet orientation, and prints accordingly, rotating only envelope images when sheet direction and image direction don't match), includes two modes: one prioritizing paper feed and another prioritizing image quality. When printing on a specific sheet size in image quality mode, the printer *always* applies halftoning before storing the image. It then rotates the image data, but limits the rotation angles that can be used based on printer settings, before printing.
4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the controller is configured to, in a case where, when the rotation processing is to be performed for which the rotation angle is restricted and the direction of the sheet does not match, display a screen indicating that the image forming cannot be executed.
The image forming apparatus, as described in claim 3 (which has feed priority and image quality modes, applies halftoning in image quality mode and uses restricted rotations), displays an error message if restricted rotation is needed, but the sheet's orientation does not align with allowed rotations. The error indicates printing cannot proceed unless the paper orientation is adjusted or a different printing mode is selected.
5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the controller is configured to, in a case where, when the rotation processing is to be performed for which the rotation angle is restricted and the direction of the sheet does not match, display a screen prompting a user to rotate the sheet.
The image forming apparatus, as described in claim 3 (which has feed priority and image quality modes, applies halftoning in image quality mode and uses restricted rotations), prompts the user to manually rotate the paper if restricted rotation is required, but the current sheet orientation is incompatible. The user interface displays a message asking the user to change the paper's orientation in the paper tray.
6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the controller is configured to, in a case where, when performing the image forming on the sheet, in the rotation processing for which the rotation angle is restricted the direction of the sheet does not match, display a screen indicating that the image forming cannot be executed.
The image forming apparatus, as described in claim 3 (which has feed priority and image quality modes, applies halftoning in image quality mode and uses restricted rotations), shows an error message if the sheet direction doesn't allow for restricted rotation *during the printing process*. This differs from claim 4 by showing an error *specifically when printing* rather than at job submission.
7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the controller is configured to, in a case where, when performing the image forming on the sheet, in-the rotation processing for which the rotation angle is restricted the direction of the sheet does not match, display a screen prompting a user to rotate the sheet.
The image forming apparatus, as described in claim 3 (which has feed priority and image quality modes, applies halftoning in image quality mode and uses restricted rotations), prompts the user to rotate the sheet if the sheet direction doesn't allow for restricted rotation *during the printing process*. This differs from claim 5 by showing a prompt *specifically when printing* rather than at job submission.
8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to, in a case where the type of the sheet is not an envelope: store image data to which the halftoning processing is performed in the memory unit, and perform, in accordance with the direction of the sheet, after performing rotation processing for which a rotation angle is restricted on image data stored in the memory, image forming on the sheet.
The image forming apparatus, as described in claim 1 (which stores lower resolution images without halftoning and higher resolution images with halftoning, rotates the stored image based on sheet orientation, and prints accordingly, rotating only envelope images when sheet direction and image direction don't match), *specifically when not printing on envelopes*, always applies halftoning to the image data, stores the halftoned data, performs restricted-angle rotation of the image according to the sheet's direction, and then prints the image.
9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to, in a case where the type of the sheet is an envelope and a size of the image data exceeds a threshold, select a dither for which a rotation angle is 45 degrees and for which there are few rotation angle restrictions, and store the image data to which the halftoning processing is performed in the memory.
The image forming apparatus, as described in claim 1 (which stores lower resolution images without halftoning and higher resolution images with halftoning, rotates the stored image based on sheet orientation, and prints accordingly, rotating only envelope images when sheet direction and image direction don't match), uses a specific halftoning method for envelopes if the image data exceeds a threshold size. In this scenario, the device selects a dither matrix that allows for 45-degree rotations and has fewer restrictions on rotation angles, halftones the image, and stores the data in memory.
10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the controller is configured to, in a case where the size of the sheet is the predetermined size and the image quality priority mode is set, select a dither for which a rotation angle is not 45 degrees and for which there are many rotation angle restrictions, and store image data to which the halftoning processing is performed in the memory.
The image forming apparatus, as described in claim 3 (which has feed priority and image quality modes, applies halftoning in image quality mode and uses restricted rotations), selects a specific type of halftoning when using a specific sheet size and the image quality priority mode is enabled. It uses a dither matrix that *does not* use 45-degree rotations and has *more* restrictions on rotation angles, and stores the halftoned image in memory.
11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to determine whether or not the type of the sheet is an envelope, and determine whether or not the rotation processing is performable, based on a result of determining the type of the sheet.
The image forming apparatus, as described in claim 1 (which stores lower resolution images without halftoning and higher resolution images with halftoning, rotates the stored image based on sheet orientation, and prints accordingly, rotating only envelope images when sheet direction and image direction don't match), determines whether the sheet is an envelope. The printer bases its decision to perform rotation processing (and how it performs it) based on whether the sheet is an envelope or not.
12. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising the display device, wherein the controller is configured to cause the display device to display a warning screen in a case where it is determined that the rotation processing is not performable.
The image forming apparatus, as described in claim 1 (which stores lower resolution images without halftoning and higher resolution images with halftoning, rotates the stored image based on sheet orientation, and prints accordingly, rotating only envelope images when sheet direction and image direction don't match), includes a display. If the printer determines that image rotation is not possible, the printer displays a warning message on the display.
13. A method of controlling an image forming apparatus comprising a memory and a controller, the method comprising: receiving, in the controller, image data; in a case where the image data has a first resolution, storing, in the controller, the image data in the memory without halftone processing; in a case where the image data has a second resolution higher than the first resolution, storing, in the controller, the image data in the memory after the halftone processing thereof; in a case where the halftone processing has been performed for the image data stored in the memory and a direction of the sheet does not correspond to the direction of the image data stored in the memory: performing, if a type of the sheet is an envelope, a rotation processing of the image data, and causing the image forming device to perform an image forming on the sheet based on the rotated image data, and causing, if the type of the sheet is not an envelope, a display device to display an alert screen without performing the rotation processing.
A method for controlling an image forming apparatus involves receiving image data. If the data has a lower resolution, it is stored without halftoning. Higher resolution data is halftoned before storage. If halftoning was applied, and the sheet's direction doesn't match the image's direction, the image is rotated if printing on an envelope. Otherwise, an alert is shown if not printing on an envelope.
14. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute each step of a method of controlling an image forming apparatus comprising a memory and a controller, the method comprising: receiving, in the controller, image data; in a case where the image data has a first resolution, storing, in the controller, the image data in the memory without halftone processing; in a case where the image data has a second resolution higher than the first resolution, storing, in the controller, the image data in the memory after the halftone processing thereof; in a case where the halftone processing has been performed for the image data stored in the memory and a direction of the sheet does not correspond to a direction of the image data stored in the memory: performing, if a type of the sheet is an envelope, a rotation processing of the image data, and causing the image forming device to perform an image forming on the sheet based on the rotated image data, and causing, if the type of the sheet is not an envelope, a display device to display an alert screen without performing the rotation processing.
A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (like a flash drive or hard drive) stores a program. This program, when executed, controls an image forming apparatus by: receiving image data; storing lower resolution data without halftoning; halftoning and storing higher resolution data; and if the sheet direction doesn't match the image's (and halftoning was applied), rotating the image for envelopes, or displaying an alert otherwise.
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October 3, 2017
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